Help needed to plan through the next 10 days

Toonie

Due to far too many unexpected outlays in an already tight month I seem to have managed to have run out of money. I get paid on the 22nd of the month, with putting aside bus money to get to work, I've got around £10 left. My past experience of this forum says this is more than doable considering what I have in but a little bit of inspiration would be fantastic.



Freezer

8 rashers bacon

1 portion pork belly slices

Unsmoked gammon joint (1.3kg)
1 x 200g beef mince
2 pollock steaks
2 wild boar sausages (toad in the hole tonight)


Box raspberries
2 x 250g butter
1 kg mixed frozen vegetables (carrots, peas, green beans, sweetcorn)



Fridge

1kg carrots
2 eggs
2 pints milk
1 large swede
200g cheddar
250g green beans



Cupboard

Plain flour (around 300g left)
1 box wheat biscuits

1kg dried mixed fruit
400g plum tomatoes
400g butter beans
250g pearl barley
1 tin mandarins
1 small tin pineapple
1 box oatcakes
1 bag satsumas
3 bananas
Half a jar honey
Jar of marmalade
Various herbs and spices.



This is just for me (which makes it easier). I can't eat rice or pasta or alliums (so no onion, garlic etc). Breakfast is sorted with the weetabix and fruit. I need to pick up some carb options as that seems to be the major lacking component so will pop to my local Turkish shop for a loaf of bread (50p) and pack of pitta bread (25p) and check their spud choices. I'm having toad in the hole tonight with mixed vegetables and I'll make some gravy with the veg water.


Any suggestions for the best way to use up the gammon? I've never cooked a gammon joint before so not sure where to start.

JulieGeorgiana

I'm not great at making up meals, but you said 'toad in the hole' tonight. In our house TITH uses 12 sausages for 1 meal. While a sausage casserole, or pasta bake uses 8 sausages for 2 meals.

Just an idea if you're trying to make food stretch...

Any

8 rashers bacon 1 egg - spagetti carbonara, bacon butty (2 meals)

1 pollock steak, tinned tomatoes, beans - baked pollock with simple tomato sauce and steamed green beans

beef mince, mixed veg, carrots - 2 cottage pies

Pork belly slices - sticky roasted pork belly, sitting on a bed of lentils (you will need to buy can/dried lentils, onion, garlic)

Carrot soup

I make soup with my gammon, if I am not making honey glazed gammon roast, but 1.3 kg piece is rather a lot... is it frozen? Can you slice a piece off? If you buy a pack of the dried lentils, lentil, carrot and gammon soup is gorgeous.

Any

The other fish and butterbeans
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/smoked_coley_with_51756

(obviously adapted to what you have)

Easy gammon joint recipe, you could eat it for few days even if you sliced piece off for the soup and put another couple slices into a freezer!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/traditional_honey-glazed_52289

jackyann

Gammon is one of the best stretchables that I know, however, my experience is of stretching it for a family, and it is quite large for you on your own.
If using it, slow cook with some herbs & cook in stock, apple juice or cider (if you can get windfall apples, just dicing a few will add to the taste). If you want, you could glaze with the marmalade (add a bit of mustard if you have some). Slice & eat with butter beans, then you will have lots left for sandwiches, then odd bits can be put into risottos, omelettes etc. I would cook some up with your mixed veg for a hearty soup meal (could also use the barley) and you can always freeze oddments of cooked gammon to use in this way.

However, I would tend not to cook such a large joint for 1. Depending on the friends & family you have nearby, I would think about asking someone round, get them to bring something to drink & pudding (or just the drink if you can get together the makings of a pineapple-upside-down cake). Buy some large potatoes to bake or roast. You will still have left-overs, and will have had a more cheery time (apologies if this really wouldn't suit you)

maman

jackyann wrote: »

Gammon is one of the best stretchables that I know

It freezes beautifully after it's been cooked, just cool, slice and portion up then it can be eaten with chips or veg and with or without a sauce.

I'd normally make soup with the stock so I wouldn't want to use apple juice.

I cook mine with a few peppercorns, a bayleaf and a couple of carrots (also an onion but you can leave that out). It should have times on the pack but basically boil/simmer it until it feels cooked when you stick a knife in it. If you have a SC then do it in there.

Your mince will go further if you make a sauce (Bolognese or chilli type) and have it with jacket potatoes. I tend to buy bags of white potatoes and save the big ones for jackets, much cheaper than baking potatoes.

I'd certainly buy more eggs, they're cheap enough and you can't go far wrong filling yourself up with egg & chips!

DigForVictory

Cook the joint & invite folks round. They now "owe" you a meal...
Leftovers can make thick sandwiches and left-left-overs will make a gorgeous thick soup (beans, barley & remaining veggies).
All the best!

Butterfly_Brain

JulieGeorgiana wrote: »

I'm not great at making up meals, but you said 'toad in the hole' tonight. In our house TITH uses 12 sausages for 1 meal. While a sausage casserole, or pasta bake uses 8 sausages for 2 meals.

Just an idea if you're trying to make food stretch...

I use 2 sausages each that have been sliced up for a toad in the hole, the same with sausage casserole, that is plenty

Butterfly_Brain

Gammon is great for stretching into lots of meals. My family love it boiled and not baked. Slice it and dice it to stretch to so many different meals and then freeze them so that you always have a meal that you can pull out of the freezer for those I can't be asked to cook days.

• The gammon can be sliced and served with chips or mash with pineapple and a fried egg on top.
• Use in a tomato or cream based sauce with vegetables served with potatoes, chips or mash.
• Use the barley to make a risotto type meal with some of the diced gammon with veggies of choice.
• Layer diced gammon in a dish with sliced potatoes, sliced onion and pour over stock, cook until the potatoes are tender.
• And of course in sandwiches.

JulieGeorgiana

Butterfly_Brain wrote: »

I use 2 sausages each that have been sliced up for a toad in the hole, the same with sausage casserole, that is plenty

I'd starve, but only because I'm not allowed mash or pasta or root veg for health reasons. So I end up with just sausages and veg, for the rest of the family 2 per person sounds about right for TITH. But I still use less in a pasta dish or casserole.

I always forget to adjust for those who eat normally unlike me

Toonie

Thanks so much for the suggestions so far, I may be able to cook up the gammon for a few friends on the weekend and have the favour returned. I shall see who I can find.

No toad in the hole tonight after all as I got home late from work and didn't want to wait 40 minutes for dinner so I had cheese, oatcakes, the last bit of cucumber and a satsuma for dinner. This also meant I missed out on the shop and their lovely bread but can grab some tomorrow. On the upside I did find a pound coin on my way to work so that made me smile.

As I can't eat pasta (or rice) I find that most of meals don't stretch so easily as I get bored of eating lots of potatoes with a meal so tend to have quite a bit of veg. The sausages are chipolatas and so not terribly large (they were the last of a pack portioned up into pairs) so will probably stick with toad as it feels like the right weather for it. I'll also make some soup tomorrow for lunches as I found a mystery plastic box in the freezer which turned out to be homemade stock. The gammon is one large frozen joint which I bought when I saw it reduced but didn't have time to do anything with as I was going away for the weekend.

Monday-lunch-leftover soup; supper-cheese, oatcakes
Tuesday-lunch-soup; supper-toad in hole
Wednesday-lunch-soup; supper-fish and beans
Thursday-lunch-oatcakes and cheese; supper-pork belly, baked potato (presuming I get some tomorrow).